Piaget's Cognitive Development - Scenarios

A 2-year-old child is playing with a toy car. When the car rolls under the couch and disappears from view, the child immediately crawls over and looks under the couch to find it. Which stage of Piaget’s cognitive development is this behaviour most characteristic of?

• Preoperational

• Concrete Operational

• Sensorimotor

• Formal Operational

A 5-year-old is shown two identical balls of playdough. The teacher flattens one ball into a pancake shape and asks which has more playdough. The child insists the pancake has more, even after being told they are the same. Which stage is this child most likely in?

• Preoperational

• Concrete Operational

• Sensorimotor

• Formal Operational

A 9-year-old is given three beakers: Beaker A contains 200 mL of water, Beaker B is tall and thin, and Beaker C is short and wide. The child pours the water from Beaker A into Beaker B, then into Beaker C, and correctly states that the amount of water remains the same each time. Which stage does this demonstrate?

• Preoperational

• Concrete Operational

• Sensorimotor

• Formal Operational

A 13-year-old is asked to solve the following problem: “If all mammals have hearts, and all dogs are mammals, do all dogs have hearts?” The student confidently answers yes and explains their reasoning. Which stage of cognitive development is this?

• Preoperational

• Concrete Operational

• Sensorimotor

• Formal Operational

A 7-year-old is given a set of blocks of different shapes and sizes. The child is able to group the blocks by shape, then by colour, and then by size, depending on the instruction. Which stage of cognitive development is this child demonstrating?

• Preoperational

• Concrete Operational

• Sensorimotor

• Formal Operational

A 15-year-old is given a pendulum and asked to determine what affects the speed of its swing. The student systematically changes the length of the string, the weight of the bob, and the height from which it is released, keeping all other variables constant each time. Which stage of cognitive development is this?

• Preoperational

• Concrete Operational

• Sensorimotor

• Formal Operational

A 12-year-old is able to imagine and discuss hypothetical situations, such as what life would be like if humans could breathe underwater. Which stage of Piaget’s cognitive development does this scenario best represent?

• Preoperational

• Concrete Operational

• Sensorimotor

• Formal Operational

A 10-year-old is able to arrange a set of sticks in order from shortest to longest, even when given a mixed-up pile. What is this ability called, and which stage does it belong to?

• Egocentrism; Preoperational

• Seriation; Concrete Operational

• Conservation; Sensorimotor

• Abstract reasoning; Formal Operational

A 4-year-old is shown a picture of a mountain from one side and is asked what a doll on the other side of the mountain sees. The child describes only what they themselves can see. What Piagetian concept does this scenario illustrate?

• 
  Animism

• Egocentrism

• Reversibility

• Conservation

A 6-year-old is shown two rows of buttons. One row has 8 buttons spaced far apart, and the other has 8 buttons close together. The child says the row with more space between the buttons has more buttons. What does this scenario demonstrate?

• 
  Animism

• Egocentrism

• Reversibility error

• Conservation error